There are a wide variety of containers used for shipping product over conventional channels. Whether shipping is done by air, cargo vessel, rail or truck, all shipping containers must exhibit certain basic characteristics depending upon the product being transported. The present invention deals specifically with containers which are useful in shipping product which are perishable or otherwise require the maintaining of a somewhat constant temperature independent of ambient temperature. Most often, such containers include cold packs and insulative side walls which help to maintain a refrigerated environment throughout the internal volume of the container.
Insulative shipping containers heretofore have required that the user sacrifice flexibility for insulation. Commonly, such containers consist of outer membranes such as cardboard boxes housing blocks of rigid Styrofoam.RTM., polyurethane or similar non-heat conducting products. Although in practice, such containers provide a degree of thermal insulation, they are bulky and inconvenient to store. Furthermore, Styrofoam.RTM. and polyurethane insulation are brittle, environmentally unfriendly, show little integrity upon being exposed to moisture and are not readily reusable.
Others have also suggested the use of flexible sacks for shipping product but despite their obvious advantages, soft-sided pouches provide little in the way of thermal insulation or protection of shipped product from that physical abuse commonly encountered when dealing with commercial carriers.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved shipping container which is devoid of the disadvantages recited above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved shipping container having flexible walls yet demonstrating vertical structural integrity.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a shipping container capable of being stored in a compact space yet being capable of providing adequate internal volume for shipping of product in an insulated fashion.
These and further objects will be more readily appreciated when considering the following description and appended claims.